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GameStop's $1,399.99 refurbished PS5 Pro undercuts every new unit still in stock
GameStop raised refurbished PS5 Pros to $1,399.99, roughly 55% over the $899 list price for a new one. A leaked staff memo calls the markup "intentional," and the console is out of stock at Sony, GameStop and Target.
The Engineer · Build desk
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What happened
- The console had been selling refurbished for $800, so the new tag is a jump of about 75% on GameStop's own used price.
- The memo set the new price to take effect October 6 and told staff to update in-store displays before opening on Thursday.
- An r/GameStop moderator said the leaker had been vetted and the memo appears authentic, and the new prices now show on GameStop's website.
- The $1,399.99 price matches what second-hand PS5 Pros already sell for on eBay and Facebook Marketplace.
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Why it matters
- cost At double its $700 launch price, GameStop's used Pro leaves a buyer who saved the $899 MSRP about $500 short and still priced out of every new unit in stock.
- constraint With new Pros out of stock at list and resale setting the price, the official MSRP no longer governs what a working Pro costs, now near $1,400.
- precedent The DRAM crunch driving this (RAM up 500% in a year, now reaching smartphones and cars) makes console sticker prices an early indicator for the rest of consumer electronics.
The new Pros a buyer can actually order cost more than GameStop's refurbished one. Best Buy lists the console at $1,496.01 and Walmart at $1,554.99 [11]; Newegg wants $1,585 [12]. At $1,399.99 the used unit is the cheapest Pro you can buy today.
GameStop can do this on used stock in a way it cannot on new. Retailers generally set their own prices on pre-owned hardware, and it is unclear whether Sony requires them to hold new units at or near MSRP [21]. So the chain priced its refurbished Pros to where they already clear: sealed new units go for about $1,300 or more on eBay and Facebook Marketplace [14], and $1,399.99 lands inside that band.
The shortage underneath is a memory shortage. AI data centers want HBM and will pay for it, so DRAM makers have moved most of their capacity to that market and left consumer-electronics makers to fight over what remains [15]. The Pro's MSRP has itself climbed from $749.99 to $899.00 this year under the same pressure [9]. GTA VI, pre-selling since June 2026 and due in November, is pulling console demand forward [17], though Rockstar is not aiming for 60 FPS at launch [18].
A buyer who just wants a PlayStation has cheaper options. The base PS5 Disc and Digital models sit near list at about $649.99 and $599 [19], and a pre-owned base unit starts at $499.99 [20]. Someone buying only to play GTA VI could take an Xbox Series X, which comes in under the Pro's MSRP and beats the base PS5 on performance [22]. Or they could try AnyPS5, the open-source project that runs PS5 games natively on PC [23].
What to watch
- Whether Sony sets or enforces an MSRP on new PS5 units, which decides if used-above-new pricing can hold.
- GTA VI's November launch and whether it tightens or eases PS5 Pro supply.
- Whether DRAM makers shift capacity back from AI, the upstream cause of the 500% RAM rise.